This year's Honor Card tells a tale of service and homelessness

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 04:42 PM.

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Mangum said he’d asked the veterans if they felt “doubly wounded.” When they seemed perplexed at the question, Mangum explained that people have a habit of treating those in the military as superhuman, that they’re held to a higher standard when in service and thus expected to easily thrive when discharged.

But, Mangum pointed out, veterans are only human. And when they fall on tough times upon leaving the military, it may seem they fall harder, and must make “the climb” back to a successful life as a civilian — something many young veterans have no experience doing.

“A lot of our young veterans have never even applied for a job,” outside the military, Mangum said. “With the closing of two wars, 300,000 veterans will be coming out of service,” and those who become homeless will do so at a faster rate than their predecessors.

During his presentation, Mangum said statistics showed it took an average of eight years for a
Vietnam
veteran to become homeless after military discharge. Today, he said, it usually takes less than a year for the same decline.

“Success really is in the comeback,” and that “climb” becomes possible when an organization like Allied Churches offers a veteran — or any other homeless person — that first “toehold.”

“You are a triage unit,” Mangum said to Allied Churches board members and friends of the organization Wednesday.

“You’re really the last hope for a lot of folks,” he said, referring to the Allied Churches’ Emergency Night Shelter, Good Shepherd Kitchen, Emergency Assistance Network, and Allied Resource and
Drop-In
Center
.

Like many of Greensboro artist William Mangum’s Honor Card images, “The Climb” features a lone figure, hunched over in a picturesque — but obviously cold — winter scene.

The figure is on a path leading toward a small church, backlit by a sun that is setting. Upon closer look, a figure is seen wearing a military green jacket with an American flag on the shoulder.

For the first time in the local agency’s history of participating in the Honor Card Program, Allied Churches of Alamance County hosted Mangum on Wednesday, as he kicked off the annual campaign to raise money — and awareness — for the homeless and hungry.

Mangum has been painting winter images for The Honor Card program for the past 24 years, and Allied Churches has been one of the charities benefiting from the fundraiser’s sales since 2003.

This year, Mangum personally unveiled “The Climb” at MacedoniaEvangelicalLutheranChurch on behalf of Allied Churches, and explained the image’s inspiration — military veterans in the homeless population.

“They make up the largest percentage of homeless,” Mangum said. “Over the years, each painting is sort of inspired by an individual or an incident,” he said.

The inspiration for “The Climb” came from Mangum’s visit with 250 veterans living in The Veterans Restoration Quarters in Asheville, and the three men pictured inside the card are Russ, Ricky and Joey, with whom Mangum became particularly close.

Mangum said he’d asked the veterans if they felt “doubly wounded.” When they seemed perplexed at the question, Mangum explained that people have a habit of treating those in the military as superhuman, that they’re held to a higher standard when in service and thus expected to easily thrive when discharged.

But, Mangum pointed out, veterans are only human. And when they fall on tough times upon leaving the military, it may seem they fall harder, and must make “the climb” back to a successful life as a civilian — something many young veterans have no experience doing.

“A lot of our young veterans have never even applied for a job,” outside the military, Mangum said. “With the closing of two wars, 300,000 veterans will be coming out of service,” and those who become homeless will do so at a faster rate than their predecessors.

During his presentation, Mangum said statistics showed it took an average of eight years for a Vietnam veteran to become homeless after military discharge. Today, he said, it usually takes less than a year for the same decline.

“Success really is in the comeback,” and that “climb” becomes possible when an organization like Allied Churches offers a veteran — or any other homeless person — that first “toehold.”

“You are a triage unit,” Mangum said to Allied Churches board members and friends of the organization Wednesday.

“You’re really the last hope for a lot of folks,” he said, referring to the Allied Churches’ Emergency Night Shelter, Good Shepherd Kitchen, Emergency Assistance Network, and Allied Resource and Drop-InCenter.

In the past year, 650 people were sheltered — 42 of them were veterans, said Greg Seel, the agency’s board president. He said last year, 54 children were sheltered, and in the first four months of this year, Allied Churches had already sheltered 52 children.

Leo Welsh, Allied Churches’ interim executive director, said the average number of meals served daily has increased from 150 to about 165 since last year.

“We’ve had as many as 230 in a given day,” Welsh said.

The Honor Card Program continues to be Allied Churches’ largest fundraising campaign, and the total raised statewide for all 11 participating agencies since 1988 has reached more than $4 million.

To continue raising money for feeding, sheltering and providing programming for the homeless through the local agency, Honor Cards are available for purchase at multiple locations in Burlington, including: Allied Churches of Alamance County at 206 N. Fisher St., The Times-News at 707 S. Main St., Patty Vision Center of Burlington at 2326 S. Church St. and Graham Sporting Goods at 2535 S. Church St.

The cards can be purchased for a minimum donation of $5. For more information, call 336-229-0881, email honorcard@allied-churches.org or visit www.TheHonorCard.com.